Beefalo is a cross-breed of domestic cattle and Bison (American Buffalo) developed for its lean meat. The total Bison influence can be as low as 17.5% to as high as 37.5%. Beefalo with 37.5% (3/8) Bison influence is considered a Full Blooded animal. This unique hybrid of beef cattle yields a tremendous quality of table meat that is high in protein but very low in cholesterol making it a wonderful alternative for consumers with heart conditions or high cholesterol.

There are many inherent benefits to raising Beefalo cattle including but not limited to reduced production costs, low cholesterol / high protein meat, calving ease, and the hearty, disease resistant nature of the breed.

Production Cost

Beefalo are theoretically less expensive to own, maintain, produce, and raise to slaughter weight than traditional domestic cattle. This is primarily due to the Beefalo’s natural ability to convert regular pasture grasses and forage into useable protein, which results in weight gain. Secondarily, there is a substantial cost savings derived from the specific feeding techniques employed in raising Beefalo. Because Beefalo readily convert forage, it is unnecessary to “finish” Beefalo by feeding expensive high protein grain products for long periods of time.

Low Cholesterol

Beefalo contains 34% less cholesterol than traditional beef and 17% less cholesterol than fish. Read more about Beefalo Nutrition here

High Protein

Beefalo is genetically lean meat with high protein contents. A 100 gram serving of Beefalo contains 30.66 grams of protein versus 27.33 grams in the same size serving of beef. That same serving of Beefalo has just 6.32 grams of total fat. Read more.

Calving ease

The bison influence on the Beefalo breed has a direct and quantifiable impact on calving ease in the breed. There is no one to help “pull a calf” for a wild bison. Any bison cow incapable of delivering hearty calves and recovering quickly to continue grazing with the herd is naturally removed from the gene pool by death during calving or from predation. Subsequently, the remaining cows pass the body structure and conformation required for successful calving along to their daughters. When combined with the lower average birth weight of Beefalo calves (also directly influenced by the Bison genetics), the result is a genetically superior animal capable of calving without assistance in 90%+ of all births.

Disease Resistance

The bison influence in the Beefalo breed has led to a naturally hearty and disease resistant strain of cattle. While disease has not been entirely eliminated, Beefalo do not need to be vaccinated as often other cattle breeds.